The present invention is directed to electronic games, particularly those of the type in which simulated sports action is provided by selective actuation of discrete visual-image-producing devices in a matrix of such devices arrayed about a simulated playing field.
Electronic games of the type that employ a matrix of discrete visual-image-producing devices to provide the same action have enjoyed considerable success in recent years. This success has understandably inspired a large variety of efforts to produce such games. Efforts have been directed both at simulating different types of games and also at improving existing simulations.
In order to provide an interesting game, it is desirable that the number of possible play situations be large. The game designer will therefore want to provide the operator with control over a significant number of play symbols. A competing consideration, however, is that the simulated players over which the operator has control must be provided in such a way that he can reasonably control the movements of all or most of them simultaneously in real time; an increase in the number of play symbols that are theoretically controllable by operation of keys on a control panel does not significantly increase the play value of the same if the number that the operator can realistically control at a time is not increased.
An arrangement for increasing the number of player symbols over which the operator has control without significantly increasing the difficulty of controlling them is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,735, granted Feb. 10, 1981, to Eric Bromley for an "Electronic Simulated Football Game and Method." The game illustrated in that application provided a set of play symbols that were movable as a group by depression of a single key; a key directing the movement of one of them one step forward; for instance, would ordinarily cause all of them to move one step forward.
A further increase in the possibilities presented is provided in a game, currently, being marketed under a number of names, in which the offensive operator is provided with four offensive play symbols, three of which move concurrently as in the Bromley application and a fourth of which moves separately. By operation of an extra switch on the control panel, the control ordinarily afforded by the direction buttons over the three concurrently movable play symbols can be applied to the separate symbols.
It is an object of one aspect of the present invention to permit the operator to effectively control independently movable play symbols simultaneously. It is an object of another aspect to afford greater control over the relative positions of the concurrently movable symbol.